Shoe Carnival

I needed a new pair of shoes, my sneakers have containment issues, and are not fun to wear when it is wet outside. A couple of weeks ago, Adam and I went out in an unsuccessful attempt to find a pair of comfortable shoes I could wear.

Tara and I were out Friday night wandering around. There is a new place in town called Shoe Carnival. I wondered what kind of carnival it really was. (I was reminded of the time the 'circus' came to town and set up shop in the Riverwoods. Let's just say it wasn't "the greatest show on Earth." I was very underimpressed by that circus. I think I remember them having a few animals and stuff, but it was all kind of sad. As if they were the cast offs from a real circus, going from town to town like gypsies, scratching out just enough to move on to the next town. It was a really sad circus.) Let's just say I wasn't holding my breath about the Shoe Carnival. And if I ever go on a cruise, someone would really have to talk me into Carnival Cruise lines...

This place actually had a fairly ok selection of shoes, and they are running a buy one get one half off sale. I went looking for hiking boots first. They had a giant wall of them. I tried one on first, and wasn't all that impressed. I was looking for another pair to try, and a sales guy came up to ask what I was looking for. I explained that I was looking for a pair of hiking boots that would both give my ankle some support and also not bother it at the same time. (Stupid ankle... The sales guy said he broke his ankle 9 months ago, but I showed him my scar, which drove the point home.) Anyway, he first started pointing at the boot I already tried, I told him that I already tried that, they were a no go. He grabbed another pair of boots, I tried them on, and to my great surprise, they felt very comfortable. They also had pretty good support, nearly as much as my ankle brace. He started talking about how the brand (Wolverine) was the second best to Doc Martins. He didn't have to bother, the boots fit perfectly.

Tara couldn't find a pair of sneakers she liked perfectly, I started looking for a new pair of sneakers. I figured if worst came to worse, I would walk out with 2 pairs of shoes for me. As Tara was thinking she had a pair that sort of, but not exactly, felt good, I found a pair of Nike sneakers that were really very comfortable also. It really was a carnival of shoes. I ended up getting the two pairs for me, we still need to find Tara a new pair of sneakers.

Long story short - Shoe Carnival - the Ringling of Shoe Carnivals, not Joe's budget Circus...